PocketSans

“Wait,” the thief said, “before you eat me-” “What?” said the dragon. “- let me see your treasure.” “My hoard? I slept on it when you came in.” “But where is your gold?” The dragon nodded at the hoard of yarn. “It paid for that.” “But why?” “I knit. Here, take this jumper.”

— Micro SF/F stories (@MicroSFF) October 21, 2019

A friend of mine on Facebook was able to attend the Last Jedi premiere in Los Angeles last night with some friends of his from the Rebel Legion and the 501st, all in costume, including a young woman who was dressed as Rose Tico. Kelly Marie Tran saw her while she was walking the red carpet, and this was her reaction to seeing someone dressed as Rose. According to my friend, there were tears all around and it was a very emotional moment. Representation matters, you guys, and it is so important. These photos made me emotional just seeing them, and I was given permission to share them with the rest of you here.

The dragon dreamt a different life, in which it was human. No matter how it tried, it couldn’t wake up, and soon you forgot this is a dream.

Maybe, you think, I’m dreaming now. Maybe I’m someone else, dreaming this life. But what if I’ve dreamed up kittens, maybe they’re not real?

How did a blogger’s blackboard become a funny poster featured in the Bodleian Libraries’ Which Jane Austen? exhibition? Imogen Foxell tells her story.

I’m an Oxford-based lexicographer who moonlights as an artist. Last Christmas I spent a lot of time and effort illustrating scenes from Mansfield Park for a Folio Society competition, which I ultimately didn’t win.

But during this period, my exhausted mind was filled with Mansfield Park, and I found myself having a series of vivid dreams: Fanny Price’s secret identity as a killer robot, her face-off with a dragon, her transformation into Mr. Hyde.

Having completed my competition entry, I let off steam by doing a quick sketch of my dreams on the giant blackboard that, I think, the previous residents of my old flat had ‘acquired’ from a pub.

A little while later, I applied to an excellent workshop at the Bodleian on medieval book art, and this is when Maddy Slaven, the libraries’ head of exhibitions, saw my Mansfield Park blackboard blog. Brilliantly, it was just the thing she was looking to add to one of the cases.

Not so brilliantly, the original blackboard picture was no more; I rub them out every week to make space for another illustration.

But I was able to recreate the picture, and now… it’s in the exhibition, and there are even postcards and prints in the gift shop! And as a huge Jane Austen fan, it’s just remarkable to see my picture in the same room as her writing desk and original manuscripts.

Which Jane Austen? at the Bodleian Libraries’ Weston Library will be open seven days a week until 29 October. You will find Imogen on Twitter.